Hidden
by ShadowWalkerxX
Summary: Clary, Clary Fray. Clary goes to her new college, excited about meeting her roommate and about how her college years will go. But when she meets her tattooed roommate and a certain tatted up golden boy, will Clary grow to like him.. Possibly love him? *Story isn't mine, I changed and added details to it*
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, New story woooo :D Now. People. I must warn you. This will have some *cough cough* improper scenes in here. And curse words. You don't like that, Well this story isn't for you D:**

Clary!" I hear my mom's voice call from downstairs. I groan to myself and roll out of my tiny, yet comfortable bed. While neatly tucking the corners of my bed sheet into the headboard, I take my time because this is the last morning that I'll be completing the task for months.

"Clary!" She calls again.

"I'm up!" I yell back. The cabinets open and close downstairs, she must be making me breakfast. My stomach feels a little knotted as I start my shower. I spent the last few years nervously anticipating college. I spent my weekends studying and preparing for this as my peers were out getting drunk, wasting their time. The day my acceptance letter to Washington State University came I was thrilled. My mother cried for what felt like hours, and I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself. All my hard work finally paid off. I had once considered leaving Washington for college but eventually decided against it.. I like familiarity.

The hot water loosens my strained muscles, how long have I been in here? I hurry and wash my hair and body, lazily running a razor over my legs to remove the small stubble that has appeared over the weekend.

As I wrap the towel around my wet body, my mom calls my name yet again. I ignore her, I know she is nervous for my arrival day at college but I have had this day planned down to the hour, for months. My boyfriend Gale will be here soon to ride with me and my mom. Gale is one grade younger than me, but he is eighteen, his parents put him into kindergarten a year late. Gale has straight A's just like I did, he is brilliant and will be joining me at WSU next year. I do wish that he was coming now, especially considering that I won't know a single person at college. I just need a decent roommate, that's the only thing I am asking for.

"Clarissa!"

"I'm coming down now. Stop calling my name!" I yell as I walk down the stairs.

Gale is sitting at the table across from my mom dressed in a blue polo shirt and khakis, his normal attire. His blonde hair is combed and lightly gelled to perfection.

"Hey college girl." He smiles a bright, perfectly lined smile. He stands to pull my into a tight hug.

"Hey." I give him an equally bright smile and pull my red hair into a bun once he releases me from his grip.

"Honey, we can wait a couple minutes while you fix your hair." My mom says quietly.

I make my way to the mirror and nod, she is right. My hair needs to be presentable for today, and of course she did not hesitate to remind me.

"I'll put your bags in the car." Gale offers and grabs the keys from my mom. With a quick kiss on my cheek, he disappears from the room.

The butterflies in my stomach dance around as I walk to the car, at least I have two hours to make them disappear. I have no idea what college will be like, will I make friends?

* * *

"Here we are!" My mother squeals as we drive through the stone gate and into the campus. It looks just as great in person as it did in the brochures and online, I'm impressed. The buildings are old and elegant. Hundreds of people, parents hugging and kissing their children goodbye, clusters of freshman, dressed head to toe in Washington State University gear, and a few stragglers, lost and confused, fill the area. The size of the campus is intimidating but hopefully after a few weeks I'll feel at home. The orientation is short and I sit alone, my usual forte. A seemingly nice middle aged woman gives me my dorm key and sends me on my way. I already feel more freedom than I have in the last eighteen years.

"I want to see your dorm room before I go honey. I just can't believe your in college! My only daughter, a college student, living on her own. I just can't believe it." She whines and wipes her eyes, careful to not mess up her makeup. Gale follows us, carrying my bags as we navigate through the corridor.

"It's B22.. we are in C hall," I tell them. Luckily, I see a large B painted on the wall. "Down here" I instruct and they follow. I'm thankful that I only brought a few clothes, a blanket, and some of my favorite books along so Gale doesn't have too much to carry.

"B22," my mother huffs. Her heels are outrageously high for the amount of walking we have just endured. I slide the key into the old wooden door, it creaks open and my mother gasps. The room is small, with two tiny beds and two desks. My eyes travel to the reason of my mother's surprise. One side of the room is covered in music posters, mostly bands I have never heard of, the faces on them covered in piercings and tattoos. The girl laying across the bed has bright, clearly dyed red hair, eyes lined with what looks like inches of black liner, and her arms are covered in tattoos.

"Hey," she says, offering a smile. Her smile is quite intriguing, much to my surprise. "I'm Isabelle," she says and sit's up on her elbows.

"h..hey.. I'm Clary," I choke, all of my manners flying out the door.

"Welcome to WSU, where the dorms are tiny and the parties are huge," the crimson haired girl grins. Her head falls back into a fit of laughter. My mother's jaw is resting, wide open on the carpet, and Gale shifts uncomfortably. Isabelle walks over, closing the gap between us and wraps her thin arms around me. I am taken aback by her affection but I return her kind gesture. A knock sounds at the door as Gale drops my bags onto the floor and I can't help but hope that this is all some sort of sick joke.

"Come in!" My new roommate yells, the door opens and two boys walk inside before she finishes her greeting.

One had golden blonde hair and the other had brown hair.

Boys inside the female dorms on the first day? Maybe Washington State was a bad decision. I assume by the pained expression covering my mother's face, she is thinking the same. The poor woman looks like she may pass out any moment.

"Hey, you Isabelle's roomie?" The brunette haired boy asks. He doesn't have as many tattoos as the other boy, but he has them.

"Um.. yea. My name is Clary." I manage to say.

"I'm Griffin, don't look so nervous," He says with a smile, reaching out to touch my shoulder. "You'll love it here." his smile is warm and inviting despite his harsh appearance.

"I'm ready guys." Isabelle says, grabbing her thick, black bag from the bed. My eyes shift to the tall blonde haired boy leaning against the wall. His hair is a mop of waves on his head, pushed back off of his forehead and he has metal in his eyebrow and lip. My eyes travel down his black t-shirt to his arms which are covered in tattoos as well, not an inch of untouched skin is seen. I expect him to introduce himself but he doesn't, instead he rolls his eyes in annoyance and pulls a cellphone from the pocket of his tight, black jeans. He definitely isn't as friendly as his brunette friend.

"See you around Clary," Griffin says and the three of them exit the room. I let out a long breath. To say that was uncomfortable would be an understatement.

"You are getting a new dorm!" My mother yells as soon as the door clicks shut.

"No, I can't." I sigh, "It's fine mother," I do my best to hide my nerves. I don't know how well this will work out either but the last thing I want is my overbearing mother causing a scene on my first day of college. "I'm sure she won't be around anyway," I try to convince her, along with myself.

"Absolutely not, we are going to switch dorm rooms now," her long red hair is flipped to one shoulder, "you will not be in a room with someone who allows males into her room, those punks at that!" She shrieks.

"Mother.. please," I look into her green eyes then to Gale, "let's just see how it goes. Please," I beg. She looks around to the room again, taking in the décor covering Isabelle's side and huffs dramatically.

"Fine." she spit's, much to my surprise.

* * *

After an hour of my mother warning me against parties and boys, she finally makes her move to leave. With a Carol Young-style quick hug and kiss, she exit's the dorm room, informing Gale that she will wait for him in the car.

"I'll miss having you around every day," he says softly and pulls me into his arms. I inhale his cologne, the one I bought him two Christmas' in a row and sigh. I'll miss his smell and comforting hugs.

"I'll miss you too but we'll talk every day," I promise and tighten my arms around him. "I wish you were here this year," I say, nuzzling into his neck. Gale is only a few inches taller than me, but I like that he doesn't tower over me. He kisses me goodbye as my mother impatiently honks the horn. After Gale and my mother are officially gone, I begin to unpack my bags. My clothes are neatly folded and stored in the small dresser, the remainder are hung neatly in my half of the closet. I cringe at the amount of leather and animal prints covering the opposite side.

Already feeling exhausted, I lay across the bed. Loneliness is creeping it's way into me already and it doesn't help that my roommate is gone, no matter how uncomfortable her friends make me. I have a feeling she will be gone a lot, or worse, she may have company over too often. Why couldn't I get a roommate who loved to stay in and read or study? I suppose it could be a good thing because I'll have the small room to myself. So far college isn't what I had dreamed of, nor expected but it's only been a few hours, tomorrow will be better, it has to be.

Before bed I gather my planner and textbooks, taking the time to write down my classes for the semester and my potential meetings for the literary club I plan on joining, I'm still undecisive on that but I read a few student testimonials and I want to check it out. I pencil in a trip off campus tomorrow to get some more things for my dorm room, I don't plan on decorating the way that Isabelle has, but I would like to add a few of my own things to my side of the room. The fact that I don't have a car yet will make it a little difficult, the sooner I get one, the better. I have enough money from graduation gifts and savings but I'm not sure if I want the stress of owning a car right now. The fact that I live on campus gives me full access to public transport. With thoughts of schedules, red haired girls, and friendly brunette's covered in tattoos, I drift to sleep with my planner still in hand.

The next morning Isabelle is not in her bed. I would like to get to know her but I might as well not if she is the type of person that stays out all night. Maybe one of the two boys that she was with was her boyfriend. I hope it was the brunette one for her sake. I grab my toiletry bag and make my way to the shower room. One of my least favorite things about dorm life so far is the showers, why can't each room have it's own instead of a community shower room? It's awkward but at least it won't be co-ed. At least I had assumed it wouldn't be, until I reached the door. Sure enough there are two stick figures printed on the sign, one male and one female. Ugh. Having males in the same shower room is sure to be very uncomfortable and extremely awkward. I plan to set an alarm at least an hour earlier from now on in hopes that the co-ed room will be less crowded.

The shower takes too long to get warm and I am paranoid that someone will pull back the thin curtain separating my naked body from a room of both genders. Everyone seemed to be comfortable despite the fact that they shouldn't be. College life is strange so far. The shower stall is tiny, lined with a small rack to hang my clothes on while I shower and barely enough room to stretch my arms in front of me. I find my mind drifting to Gale and my life back home. I am distracted as I turn around and my elbow knocks into the rack, my clean clothes fall to the wet floor. The water continues to fall onto them, completely soaking them.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I groan to myself, hastily cutting the water off and I wrap my towel around myself, grabbing my pile of heavy, soaked clothes and rush down the hall, desperately hoping no one sees me. I reach my room and shove the key in, instantly relaxing until I turn around to see the blonde haired boy sprawled across Isabelle's bed.

"Uhmm..Where is Isabelle?" My voice comes out as more of a squeak than I intended. My hands are clenched around the soft fabric of my towel, my eyes keep darting down to make sure the towel is securely covering my naked body.

He looks at me, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly but doesn't say a word.

"Did you hear me? I asked you where Isabelle is," I repeat, trying to be slightly more polite than the last.

The assumed expression on his face magnifies and he finally mumbles, "I don't know," and turns on the small flat screen on Isabelle's dresser. What is he even doing in here if he doesn't know where she is? Doesn't he have his own room? I bite my tongue, trying to keep my rude comments to myself.

"Okay? Well could you like.. leave or something so I can get dressed?" I realize he hasn't even noticed I am in a towel, well maybe he has but it doesn't phase him.

"Don't flatter yourself, it's not like I am going to look at you," he scoffs and rolls over, his hands covering his how I should respond to his rude remark, I huff and walk to my dresser. Maybe he isn't straight, that's what he meant by "_it's not like I am going to look" _, either that or he thinks I am ugly. I hastily put on a bra and panties, followed by a plain white shirt and khaki shorts.

"Are you done yet?" he asks, snapping the last bit of patience I held.

"Could you be any more disrespectful? I mean honestly, you're in my room while I'm changing and you have the nerve to be rude to me? I did nothing to you, what is your problem?" I shout, my voice at a much higher volume than I had wanted but by the surprised look on his face, my words had the intended effect on the tattooed boy.

He silently stares at me and while I am waiting for his apology, he bursts into laughter. He looks at me and just laughs. His laugh is a deep and almost lovely sound. It would be much more enjoyable if he wasn't so adamant on being a continues to laugh and I feel like a complete idiot, unsure what to do or say. I don't usually like conflict and this boy seems like the last person I should start a fight with. The door opens and Isabelle bursts in.

"Sorry, I'm late. I had a hell of a hangover," she dramatically says and her eyes dart back and forth between Jace and I.

"Sorry Clare, I forgot to tell you Jace would be coming by," she shrugs apologetically, taking in the scene in front of her.

I would like to think me and Isabelle could make our living arrangement work, maybe even build some sort of a friendship, but with her choice of friends, I'm just not sure anymore.

"Your boyfriend is rude," the words tumble out before I can stop them.

Both Isabelle and Jace burst into laughter. What is it with people laughing at me? It's getting really annoying.

"Jace is not my boyfriend!" she laughs, emphasizing the _not._

"What did you say to her?"Isabelle turns and scowls at him. Jace stares at Isabelle and says nothing. "Jace has a.. a unique way of conversing" she explains, looking back to me. Lovely, so basically what she is saying is that Jace is, simply a rude person. The boy shrugs and changes the channel with the remote in his hand.

"There is a party tonight, you should come with us, Clary," she offers. It's my turn to laugh at her.

"Parties aren't really my thing. Plus I have to go to get some things for my side of the room," I look at Jace who, of course is acting as if neither of us are in the room with him.

"C'mon.. it's just one party! You're in college now, just one party won't hurt," she begs. "How are you getting to the store, I thought you didn't have a car?" she asks. I can't go to a party. I can't. I just can't.

"I don't even know anyone, besides I was going to Skype with Gale," I tell her and Jace laughs again, acknowledging that he is paying attention after all, "and I was going to take a bus to the store"

"You don't want to take the bus on a Saturday! They're way too packed. Jace can drop you on the way to his place.. right Jace? And you'll know me at the party. Just come.. please?" She presses her hands together in a dramatic plea.

I've only known her for a day, should I trust her? I know that despite how tough she looks, she is quite sweet. But a party?

"I don't know.. and no I don't want Jace to drive me to the store," I say. Jace rolls over across Isabelle's bed with an amused expression.

"Oh no! I was really looking forward to hanging out with you," he dryly remarks, his voice so full of sarcasm that I want to throw a book at his cocky head.

"Come on Isabelle, you know this girl isn't going to show at the party," he laughs. The nosy side of me, which I admit is quite large, is desperate to ask him where he is from. The mocking grin on his smug face pushes me to prove him wrong.

"Actually, I'll come," I say with as sweet of a smile as I can muster. Jace laughs again and Isabelle squeals before wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Yay! We'll have so much fun!" She shrieks.

I sure hope she's right.

* * *

I'm thankful when Jace leaves so Isabelle and I can discuss the party, I need more details to ease my nerves.

"Where is the party? Is it within walking distance?" I ask her as I align my books on the shelf into alphabetical order. It's a habit.

"It's technically a frat party, at one of the biggest frat houses here," her mouth is wide open as she layers more mascara onto her lashes, "it's right off campus so we won't be walking but Griffin will pick us up,"

I'm grateful it won't be Jace, even though I know he will be there somehow riding with him seems unbearable. Why is he so rude? If anything he should be grateful that I am not judging him for the way he has destroyed his body with holes and tattoos. Maybe I am judging him a little, but not to his face at least. It is just that I was raised in a home where tattoos and piercings are not expectable, I always had to have my hair combed, my eyebrows plucked, and my clothes clean and ironed. It is just the way it is.

"Did you hear me?" Isabelle says and laughs.

"Sorry.. what?" I hadn't realized my mind has wandered.

"I said lets get ready, you can help me pick my outfit." she says. The dresses she picks out are so inappropriate that I keep looking around for a hidden camera and someone to jump out and tell me it is a joke, I cringe at each one and she laughs, obviously finding my disgust humorous. The dress, no, piece a scrap material.. she chooses is a black dress made out of what looks like fishnet with her red bra showing through, at least the bottom is solid but I get the feeling she would wear it even if it wasn't. The dress barely reaches the tops of her thighs and the heels of her shoes are at least four inches. Her dyed red hair is pulled into a wild bun with curls escaping all over and she has more eyeliner on than ever.

"Did your tattoos hurt?" I ask her as I pull out my maroon dress.

"The first one sort of did, but not as bad as you would think. It's almost like a bee stinging you over and over," she shrugs. Ouch, that sounds very unpleasant.

"That sounds terrible," I tell her and she laughs. It occurs to me that she probably finds me as strange as I find her. It's oddly comforting.

"You're not really wearing that are you?" She gapes at my dress.

My hand slides over the fabric, this is my nicest dress and I didn't bring many clothes with me. Since I skipped on going to the store today, I'll have to find time this week. I need to pencil that in before I forget.

"What is wrong with my dress?"

I try to hide how offended I am. The maroon material is soft but sturdy, the same material business suit's are made of. The collar goes up to my neck and the sleeves are three quarter length, reaching just under my elbows.

"Nothing.. it's just so.. long?" she says.

"It is barely below my knee," I defend my favorite dress.

"It's pretty, I just think it's a little too heavy for a party, you could borrow something of mine?" She offers and I laugh.

"No thanks, I am fine wearing this." I tell her and plug in my curling iron.

* * *

My hair is perfectly curled against my face. But my hair got annoying sometimes, So I push two bobby pins in, one on each side to keep my hair out of my face.

"Do you want to use some of my makeup?" Isabelle asks and I look in the mirror again.

I usually just put on a little mascara and lip gloss. I am pretty proud of how well I take care of my skin so why hide it if I don't need to?

"Maybe a little eyeliner? I say, still unsure.

She gives me a smile and hands me three pencils. One purple, one black and one brown. I roll them around in my fingers, deciding between the black and brown.

"The black will look great with your green eyes," she says and I smile and nod, Agreeing with her.

I take the black pencil and draw the thinnest possible line around both eyes, earning a proud smile from Isabelle. Her phone buzzes and she grabs her purse. "Griffin's here" she informs me, I grab my purse, smooth my dress and slip on my white toms. She eyes my flat shoes but doesn't comment.

Griffin is waiting out front of the building, rock music blaring out of the rolled down windows. I can't help but glance around to see everyone staring at us. I keep my head down and just as I look up, I see Jace lean up in the front seat. He must have been bending down. Ugh.

"Ladies." Griffin greets us and Jace shoots me a glare as I climb in behind Isabelle, getting stuck sitting behind Jace.

"You do know that we are going to a party not a church right Clarissa?" Jace says with a smirk.

"Do not call me Clarissa please. I prefer Clary," I warn him, how does he even know my name is Clarissa? I hate being called Clarissa.

"Sure thing Clarissa," he says and I roll my eyes. I'll not banter back and forth with him, he is not worth my time.

After what feels like ages we finally pull up to a huge two story house with overgrown vines sprawling up the side. ZELTA XI is painted in black letters on the massive house. It looks like something from a movie.

"It's so big, how many people will be here?" I gulp. The lawn is full of people holding red cups, I am way out my league here.

"A full house, hurry up," Jace says and gets out of the car, slamming the car door behind him.

I watch as multiple people high five and shake Jace's hand. No one else that I see is covered in tattoos like him, Griffin and Isabelle. Maybe I can make some friends here tonight after all.

"Coming?" Isabelle smiles and I nod as I climb out of the car, making sure to smooth my dress again.

**Okay, So tell me what you think. Thanks for reading :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okayyyy thanks for the reviews and I'm sorry I posted the same thing twice for this chapter. I mixed both chapters us _ Anyways, I will warn you here and now even if I did on the first chapter. This story will have sexual themes later on, Curse words, and it will be VERY long.**

Jace has already disappeared into the house and I hope I don't see him again for the rest of the night, considering the amount of people crammed into this house, I probably won't. I follow Isabelle and Griffin into the through the crowded living room and I'm handed a red cup. I try to decline with a polite, "no thank you," but they are already gone so I sit the cup on the counter and continue to walk through the house. We reach a group of people who I automatically assume are Isabelle's friends. They are all tattooed like her, and sitting in a row on the couch and of course Jace is sitting on the right arm of the couch. I avoid looking at him as Isabelle introduces me to the group.

"This is Clary, my roommate. She just got here yesterday so I figured I would show her a good time for her first weekend at WSU." She tells them.

One by one they nod or smile at me. They are all so friendly, except Jace of course. A handsome boy with pale skin reaches out his hand and shakes mine. His hands are a little cold from the red cup in his hands but his smile is warm. I think I spot a tongue piercing but I'm not sure.

"I'm Pierce. What are you studying?" He asks me. I notice his eyes take in my outfit and he smiles a little but doesn't say anything.

"I am an English major." I smile proudly. I hear Jace snort but ignore him.

"Awesome, I am into turtles." Pierce laughs and I return one.

turtles? What does that even mean?

"Do you want a drink?" He offers before I can question his major.

"Oh no, I don't drink." I tell him and he tries to hide his smile.

"Leave it to Isabelle to bring little miss priss to a frat party," A tiny girl with orange hair and light pink tips says under her breath.

I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear her so I don't have to think of a comeback. Miss priss? I am in no way "prissy" I've worked and studied hard to get where I am and my mother has worked her entire life to make sure I have a good future.

"I'm going to get some air." I say and turn to walk away. I want to avoid party-drama at all costs. I don't need any enemies when I don't have any friends as it is.

"Do you want me to come?" Isabelle calls after me.

I shake my head and make my way to the door. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to come to this stupid party. I could be in my pajamas curled up in bed with a novel right now. I could be skyping Gale who I miss terribly, I could be doing anything and it would be better than sitting outside this dreadful party with a bunch of drunken idiots. I decide to text Gale.

_I miss you. College isn't so fun so far. _

I send the message and sit on a wooden bench outside the house waiting for his reply. A group of drunk girls walk by giggling and stumbling over their own feet. I roll my eyes. How obnoxious. Hopefully this isn't how everyone in college is. If so, I won't be making any friends anytime soon.

_Why not? I miss you too Clare. I wish I was there with you._

I smile at his words.

"Shit sorry!" A male voice says and a second later I feel the cold liquid soak the front of my dress. The guy stumbles and pulls himself up.

"My bad, really." He mumbles and sits down.

This party could not get any worse. My dress is soaked with god knows what type of alcohol and I have nothing to change into. Sighing, I pick up my phone and walk inside to find a bathroom. I push my way through the crowded hall and try to open every door on the way, none of them will budge. I don't even want to think about what people are doing in the rooms. I make my way upstairs and continue my hunt for a bathroom. Finally, one of the doors opens, unfortunately it's not a bathroom. It's a bedroom and even more unfortunate for me, Jace is laying across the bed with the orange haired girl straddling his lap, her mouth covering his.

The girl turns around and looks at me as I try to move my feet but they just won't budge.

"Can I help you?" she smirks. Jace sits up with her still on his torso. His face flat, not amused or embarrassed what so ever. He must do this type of thing all the time to not care if someone barges in on him like this.

"Oh.. Uhmm. No. Sorry. I'm looking for a bathroom, someone spilled a drink on me." I quickly explain. This is so uncomfortable. I'm not surprised to find the two of them embraced this way, the orange haired girl and Jace are perfect for each other. Both tattooed, and both rude.

"Okay? So go find a bathroom." she rolls her eyes and I nod, leaving the room. I wasn't in the mood nor did I want to pick a fight with some random girl right now. After the door closes I lean my back against it. So far college isn't fun. At all. I just can't wrap my head around how a party like this could be considered fun. Instead of trying to find a bathroom, I decide to find the kitchen and clean myself off there. The last thing I want is to open another door and find drunken hormonal teenagers on top of each other. Again.

The kitchen isn't too hard to find but it's way too crowded since most of the alcohol supply is in buckets on the counter. I have to reach around a brunette puking in the sink to grab a paper towel and wet it, as I wipe it over my dress, small white flakes of the cheap paper towel cover the wet spot, making it even worse. I groan and lean against the counter.

"Having fun?" I hear Griffin say. I am relieved to see a familiar face. He smiles sweetly and takes a sip of his drink.

"Not so much.. how long do these parties usually last?"

"All night.. and half the day tomorrow." he laughs and my mouth drops. When would Isabelle want to leave? Hopefully soon.

"Wait," I begin to panic, "who's going to drive us back to the dorm?" I ask him, well aware of his bloodshot eyes.

"I don't know.. you can drive my car if you want." he offers and I sigh.

"I can't drive your car, if I wreck or get pulled over with underage drinkers in the car I would get in so much trouble." I can't imagine my mother's face as she bails me out of jail.

"It's not a far drive, you should just take my car. You haven't even been drinking. Otherwise you will have to stay here unless you want me to drive. I can ask around to see if someone-"

"No, its fine. I'll figure it out." this party is becoming more of a problem by the minute.

"Let me know if you need anything." Griffin tells me. He is really a sweet guy, why does he hang out with Jace so much?

"Can you help me find Isabelle?" I ask him and he starts to laugh. His hand moves up into the air and he points into the next room. I hear my gasp as I spot her. She, along with two other girls, are dancing on a table in the living room. A drunk guy climbs up and joins them, his hands gripping Isabelles hips. I expect her to smack his hands off but she just smiles and pushes her bottom against him. .

"They're just dancing Clary." Griffin smiles and gives a quick chuckle at my uneasy expression. They aren't _just _dancing, they are groping and grinding each other.

"Yeah.. I know." I say even though it's not as casual to me. I've never danced that way, not even with Gale, and we have been dating two years. Griffin! I feel incredibly guilty that he hasn't crossed my mind since I've arrived. When I pull my phone out I have three messages from him.

_You there Clare? _

_Hello? You okay?_

_Clary? Should I call your mom? I am getting worried._

I dial him as fast as my fingers will allow, praying that he hasn't called my mom yet. He doesn't answer but I text him assuring him that I am okay and to not call my mother. She'll lose it if she finds out I'm at a party at a fraternity house, just on my first weekend of college.

"Heyyyy.. Clary!" Isabelle slurs as she walks into the kitchen. Her arm wraps around mine and she leans her head on my shoulder. "You having fun at this party?" she giggles. She is obviously beyond wasted. "I think I need.. the room is starting to spend Clare.. I mean spin." she laughs and her body lurches forward. I grab her before she can fall forward or anything.

"She's going to get sick." I tell Griffin. He nods and lifts her into his arms, draping her body over his shoulders.

"Follow me." he instructs and heads upstairs. We go to a room upstairs and he opens the door, a bathroom. Of course when I needed one I couldn't find it. He places her on the floor by the toilet and she immediately begins to vomit. I look away but grab her red hair into my fist and hold it away from her face. After more vomit than I can handle, she stops and Griffin hands me a towel. I give it to Isabelle who wipes her mouth and tosses it in the bath tub.

"Take her to the room across the hall and lay her on the bed. She's going to need to sleep it off." he says and I nod. I can't leave her here alone, passed out. "You can stay in there too." he says, seeming to read my mind.

"Thank you." I tell him and he smiles and leaves the bathroom. I manage to get her up off the floor and help her walk across the hall, the door opens to a bedroom. My eyes immediately go to the book shelves covering one of the walls. It's a habit, If I see books I always pay attention to them first. I gently lay a groaning Isabelle onto the bed and walk over to the books. I scan through the titles and I am impressed by the owner of this collection, there are many classics, including all of my favorites. I grab Wuthering Heights and pull it off the shelf. It's in bad shape, the pages showing how many times it has been read.

"Why the hell are you in my room?" An angry voice booms. I know that voice by now. It's Jace.

"I asked you what the hell you are doing in my room?" Jace repeats, just as harsh as the first time. I stayed quiet and still, I still hadn't answered Jace. I should have. His long legs stride towards me and he snatches the book out of my hand and he places it back onto the shelf. My mind is whirling. He rudely clears his throat and waves his hand in front of my face.

"Griffin told me to bring Isabelle in here." my voice is barely audible. He takes a step closer and lets out a deep breath. I gesture to his bed, causing his eyes to follow my hand. "She drank too much and Griffin said-"

"I heard you the first time." he interrupts. He runs his hand through his golden hair, clearly upset. Why does he care so much if we are in his room? Wait..

"You are a part of this fraternity?" I ask him. There is no hiding the shock in my voice. Jace is far from what I imagine frat boys to be like.

"Yeah.. so?" he answers and steps even closer. The space between us less than two feet. I try to back away from him but my back hits the bookcase. "Does that surprise you, Clarissa?"

"Stop calling me Clarissa." he has me cornered.

"That's your name isn't it?" He smirks, his mood slightly lightening.

I sigh and turn away from him, I have no idea where I'm going but I need to get away from Jace before I slap him. Or cry. It has been a long day so I will most likely cry before slapping him. Maybe I can manage both? It's possible.

"She can't stay in here." he says as I reach the door. When I turn around he has the small metal ring in his lip between his teeth. What made him decide to put a hole in his lip and eyebrow? That had to be painful.

"Why not? I thought you guys were friends?"

"We are," he says, "but no one stays in my room" his arms cross over his chest and for the first time since I met him, I can make out the shape of one of his tattoos. It's a rose, printed in the middle of his covered forearm. Jace, with a rose tattoo?

Feeling brave and annoyed, I let out a laugh. "Ohh.. I see. So only girls who make out with you can come into your room?" As the words leave my mouth his smile grows.

"That wasn't my room." He mutters. Then he stares at me curiously "Are you trying to say you want to make out with me? You're not my type sorry." he says and for some reason it hurts my feelings. Jace is far from my type but I would never actually say that to him.

"You're.. you're.." I can't find the right words to shout at Jace. My feelings are hurt and I'm embarrassed, annoyed, and exhausted from the party. I stop trying to speak to him, he isn't worth it. "Well.. then you take her to another room, and I'll find a way back to the dorms." I say and head for the door.

"Goodnight Clarissa." Jace shouts as I slam his door.

I can't help the tears that fall down my cheeks as I reach the bottom of the stairs. I hate college so far and classes haven't even started. Why couldn't I just get a roommate that's like me? I should be asleep now, preparing for Monday's classes. I don't belong at parties like this, and I most certainly don't belong hanging out with these type of people. I do like Isabelle, but I just don't have it in me to deal with these parties and people like Jace. Jace is such a mystery to me, why must he always be so rude? And why does he have all of those books? There is no way a rude, disrespectful, tattooed jerk like Jace could possibly enjoy those amazing books. The only thing I can picture him reading is the back of a beer bottle. I'm not even sure if I can make my way back to the dorms, I have no idea where this house is located. The more I think about my decisions tonight, the more frustrated and stressed I become.

I really should have thought this through, this is exactly why I plan everything so things like this don't happen. The house is still packed and the music is too loud. Griffin's brown hair and tattoos are no where to be found, neither is Pierce. Maybe I should just find a random bedroom upstairs and sleep on the floor? There are at least fifteen rooms up there and maybe I will get lucky and no one will come in. But I know better and decide against it. Despite my efforts to conceal my emotions I can't. I go back upstairs, find the bathroom Isabelle was in and sit on the floor with head in between my knees and call Gale again. He answers on the second ring.

"Clare? It's late, are you okay?" he says, his voice groggy.

"Yeah.. no.. I went to a stupid party with my roommate and now I am stuck at a frat house with no where to sleep and no way to get back to my room." I sob through the line. I know my problem isn't a life or death one but I'm beyond frustrated at myself for getting into this situation.

"A party? With that red head girl?" he sounds surprised.

"Yeah..but she's passed out."

"Whoa, why are you even hanging out with her? She's so-" Gale stops his sentence and rephrases it " She's just not someone you should hang around." he says and it irritates me. I wanted him to tell me it will be okay, tomorrow is a new day, something besides being judgmental.

"That isn't the point Gale.." I say. The door handle jingles and I sit up. "Just a minute," I call and wipe my eyes in the mirror, the toilet paper smears the liner even more. This is why I don't wear this crap. "I'll call you back, someone needs the bathroom." I say and hang up before he can protest. An impatient knock pounds on the door and I groan as I open it, wiping my eyes again. "I said just a min-" I stop as I glare at Jace's gold eyes.

I haven't previously noticed the color of his eyes, Gold, he hasn't made eye contact with me until now. I've never seen gold eyes in my life, It's a strange yet beautiful thing to see them on Jace. Jace looks away quickly and breaks the eye contact. I push past him and walk out of the bathroom. He grabs my arm, not very gently and pulls me back. My face ends up being inches away from his and our bodies are touching.

"Don't touch me!" I yell, jerking my arm from him.

"Have you been crying?" he asks, his tone curious. If this wasn't Jace, I might actually think he was concerned for me. But it's Jace. He doesn't seem like the caring type.

"Just leave me alone Jace." he stands in front of me, his tall frame blocking my movements. I can't take much more of his games, not tonight. "Jace, please. I'm begging you, if you have one decent bone in your body you'll leave me be. Just save whatever mean comment you're going to say for tomorrow. Please." I beg him, literally. A flash of confusion flashes in his eyes before he opens his mouth.

He watches me for a moment before any words come out, "there's a room down the hall you can sleep in. Isabelle is already in there." he flatly states. I wait a second for him to say something else, but he doesn't. He just stares at me.

"Okay." I quietly say and he moves out of my way.

"It's the third door on the left." he instructs and heads down the hall. "Goodnight Clarissa." I hear him say as he disappears into his bedroom. What the hell was that? Jace without any rude comments? I know I'm in for it if I see him tomorrow. He's probably already planning out all the snide comments he'll make to me.

The third room on the left is a plain room, much smaller than Jace's with two small beds. It looks more like a dorm room than the large room that Jace has. Maybe he is the leader or something? The more likely explanation is that everyone is afraid of him and he bullied his way into the largest room. Isabelle is laying across one of the beds so I kick off my shoes and cover her with the blanket before locking the door and laying down on the other bed. My thoughts are all over the place as I fall asleep, images of gold eyes flow through my dreams.

* * *

It takes a moment to remember where I am when I wake up. The horrible party and the even worse night floods into my memory and I groan as I climb out of bed. Isabelle is still passed out, I might as well let her sleep while I find out how we are getting back to the dorms. I put my shoes on and unlock the door. Should I knock on Jace's door or try and find Griffin? Is Griffin even part of the frat? I would never guessed that Jace is so maybe Griffin is too. The hallway is empty and surprisingly clean despite the party last night. I have to step over sleeping bodies as I make my way downstairs.

"Griffin?" I call, hoping to hear a reply. There are at least twenty five people sleeping in the living room alone. The floor is littered with red cups and trash. When I reach the kitchen I try to force myself not to clean it up. This will take the whole frat house all day to clean up after this party. I would love to see Jace cleaning up all this trash, as the thought goes through my head I stifle a giggle.

"What's so funny?" I turn around and of course Jace is entering the kitchen, a trash bag in his hand. He sweeps his arm over the counter top, making the cups fall into the trash bag.

"Nothing.. does Griffin live here too?" He ignores me and continues to clean up. He must be the only one awake and cleaning. Good, he deserves to have to clean this whole mess up. "Does he?" I ask again, more impatient this time. "The sooner you tell me if Griffin lives here, the sooner I can leave."

"Now you have my attention" Jace chirps giving me a smug smile. "But no he doesn't live here. Does he seem like a frat boy to you?" He smirks.

"No, but neither do you." I snap and his smile fades away and his jaw tenses.

He ignores my comment and continues to clean. "Is there a bus that runs close to here?" I ask, not expecting an answer.

"Yep" he says "well its about a block away."

"Could you tell me where it is?"

"It's not that hard to find." the corners of his mouth lift, taunting me.

I roll my eyes and walk out of the kitchen. Jace's momentary lack of rude comments last night was obviously a one time thing and he was coming at me with full force today. After the night I had I can't stand to be around him. I wake up Isabelle and we walk downstairs.

"Jace said there's a bus stop around the block." I tell her and she laughs.

"No way. We are not taking the bus, he'll drive us back. He was probably just giving you a hard time." she says, her hand resting on my shoulder. "Jace, you ready to take us back now? My head is pounding,"

"Yeah, sure just give me a minute." he says and I scoff. At least he's nice to Isabelle, I wonder how long they have been friends.

During the drive back to the dorms Isabelle sings along to whatever metal song is playing through the speakers and Jace rolls all the windows down. Despite my pleas to roll them up. He stays silent the whole way, mindlessly drumming his long fingers against the steering wheel.

"Ill come by later Isabelle," he tells her as she climbs out of the passenger seat. She nods and waves as I open my door.

"Bye Clarissa," he smirks and I roll my eyes and follow her into the dorm.

**Okay please review and let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, I'm making this so people won't start saying things. First things first, Hidden isn't my story, the plot isn't mine and the idea isn't either. The real story is called "after" I'm just posting the story on a different website with more details in the story and changing the characters name. Also, take note that I haven't taken credit for this story. If you want to stop reading it, go ahead I can't stop you :/ but like I said this isn't my story. 


	4. Chapter 4

** So anyways thank you for the reviews, They're awesome c: . So anyways I hoped you guys like the last chapter and this one too c: I also want to warn you guys. This story will be long. Very long.**

The rest of the weekend goes quickly and luckily I manage to avoid seeing Jace. I made sure to make a trip to the store Sunday before he came to the room in order to avoid him. The new clothes I bought fill up my small dresser, as I put them away Jace's obnoxious voice pops in my head "_You know we are going to a party not church'' _he said and would most certainly say again if he saw my new clothes. I have decided that I'm no longer going to be going to parties with Isabelle, or anywhere that Jace may be. He isn't good company and he exhausts me mentally.

It's now Monday morning, my first day of college classes and I couldn't be more prepared. I woke up extra early to make sure I could take a shower and not be rushed. My button up shirt and pleated skirt are perfectly ironed and ready to be put on. I plan on leaving soon so I can get to my first class at least fifteen minutes early to ensure that I won't be late.

Isabelle's alarm goes off but she hits the snooze button. Should I wake her? Her classes may start later than mine, or maybe she isn't planning on going. The idea of missing the first day of classes stresses me out but she is a sophomore so maybe she has it under control. Finally, it is time to get dressed and ready to go. I get dressed, repin my hair and put my bag over my shoulder. With one last glance in the mirror, I head to my first class. I'm grateful that I studied the campus map so I can find my classes easily. When I walk into my freshman history class the room is empty, except one person.

I choose to sit next to him, he obviously cares about being on time. Just like me.

"Where is everyone?" I ask him and he smiles. He has an adorable smile.

"Probably running across campus to barely make it here on time," he laughs and I instantly like him. That is exactly what I would have said.

"I'm Clary Fray." I say and give him a friendly smile.

"James Carstairs." he says with an equally adorable smile as the first one. "But please, Call me Jem. All my friends do." We spend the rest of the time before class talking, we are both English majors and he has a girlfriend named Danielle. He doesn't mock me when I tell him that Gale is a grade below me. I'm really glad that I sat next to him. The class fills up and me and Jem make a point to introduce ourselves to the professor.

As the day continues, I begin to regret taking five classes instead of four. I rush to my Literature class and barely make it on time. Thank god it is my last class of the day. I'm relieved when I see Jem sitting in the front row, the seat next to him empty. "Hey again." he smiles and I sit down next to him.

The professor begins the class, handing out the syllabus for the semester and tells the class about himself. I'm so glad that college is different from high school, the professors don't make you stand in front of the class and introduce yourself or any other embarrassing and unnecessary things.

Right in the middle of the professor explaining our reading lists, the door opens and my mouth drops. Of course, just when I thought my day was going decently, in stumbles Jace. "Ugh." I say under my breath and Jem laughs.

"You know Jace Herondale?" He asks. Jace must have quite the reputation around the campus if someone as sweet as Jem knows him.

"Sort of, my roommate is friends with him. He's a jerk." I whisper. Jace's eyes lock on mine and I worry that he heard me. I honestly don't care if he did, it's not like he isn't aware he is a jerk. I find myself curious about what Jem knows about him though. I can't help but ask. "Do you know him?"

"Yea.. he's.." he stops talking and his eyes look behind me. I look up and see Jace sliding into the desk next to me. Jem stays quiet for the rest of the class.

"That is all for today. I'll see you all Wednesday." Professor Hill says and dismisses us.

"I think this will be my favorite class," I tell Jem and he agrees. His face falls and I turn to see Jace walking next to us.

"What do you want Jace?" I ask, giving him a taste of his own medicine. it doesn't work, he seems rather amused.

"Nothing at all. I'm so glad we have a class together." he mocks and runs his hands through his hair, shaking it and pushing it up on his forehead.

"I'll see you later Clary." Jem says. He looks at Jace one more time and walks the opposite way.

"You _would_ find the lamest kid in class to befriend."

"Don't say that about him, he's sweet and smart. Unlike you." I'm shocked at my harsh words to him. He really brings out the worst in me.

"You're becoming more feisty with each chat we have, Clarissa."

"If you call me Clarissa one more time.." I warn and he laughs. I try to picture him without his tattoos and piercings, he is actually attractive but his personality ruins him.

"Stop staring at me." he says with a smug smile and turns around the corner, disappearing before I can think of a comeback.

* * *

It's finally Friday and my first week of college is almost over. Feeling pleased with the way the week has gone, I plan on taking time from my studying tonight to rent some movies since Isabelle will most likely be at a party. Having all my classes syllabus' really makes things easier for me so I can do a lot of the work ahead of time. I grab my bag and leave early, stopping by the café to grab a coffee to get an extra jump start on the day.

"Clary right?" A girl's voice says behind me as I wait in line. I turn around to find the orange haired girl from the party. Bay, I think Isabelle called her.

"Yeah" I answer and turn back around not wanting to talk to her. I hope she takes the hint.

"Are you coming to the party tonight?" She asks. Guess not. Sighing, I turn around again and shake my head. "You should, it's going to be awesome." she says and smiles. She runs her tiny fingers over a large swirling tattoo on her forearm. I roll my eyes and turn back around.

"Too bad, I know Pierce wanted to see you." she says and I can't help but laugh. "What? He was talking about you just yesterday." I turn back around.

"I doubt that.. but even if he was, I have a boyfriend." I tell her, causing her smile to grow.

"Too bad, we could have double dated." she smirks and I thank god when my order is ready. My hand wraps around the cup too quickly and a little bit of coffee laps over the edge and burns my hand, I curse under my breath and walk away. Double date with who? Her and Jace obviously. Yuck, Pierce was nice and all but Gale is everything to me. We haven't spoken much this week but that's only because my schedule is so busy. I send him a quick text telling him I miss him and make my way to my classes.

The day has been great. Jem and I have been meeting by the bookstore to walk to Literature together. He is leaning against the brick wall and as I reach him he greets me with a big smile.

"I'm leaving about thirty minutes into class today, I'm flying home for the weekend." he tells me.

"That's so exciting!" I tell him, maybe I should go home for the weekend sometime. My mom's house is only two hours away but I still haven't bought a car yet so I'll have to wait.

* * *

As promised, Jem leaves thirty minutes into class and suddenly I'm very aware of Jace sitting next to me. In college we can sit wherever we want, a different chair everyday if we want but Jace always sits next to me in the front row. I know he does it just to annoy me but I've been ignoring him all week.

"We will begin our week long discussion of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice." Professor Hill announces as class ends. I can't help my huge grin, I have read that novel at least ten times. It is one of my favorites.

"Let me guess, you just love Mr. Darcy." Jaces says in a mocking tone as I walk outside.

"Actually yes I do." We reach the intersection and I look both ways before crossing the street.

"Of course you do." he laughs, continuing to follow me.

"I'm sure you aren't able to comprehend Mr. Darcy's appeal." My mind goes to the massive collection of novels in Jace's room. They couldn't possibly be his. Could they?

"A man who is rude and intolerable being made into a romantic hero? Its ridiculous. If Elizabeth had any sense she would have told him to fuck off."

I laugh at his choice of words but cover my mouth, stopping myself. I was actually enjoying myself bantering with him, but it would only be a matter of time, minutes if I'm lucky, until he says something hurtful. He has a dimpled grin across his face and I can't help but admire his good looks. Piercings and all.

"So you do agree that Elizabeth is an idiot?" He raises his eyebrow.

"No, she is one of the strongest, most complex characters ever written." I defend. He laughs again and I join him. Something flashes in his eyes and he stops laughing.

"I'll see you around Clarissa." he says and turns on his heel. What's with him? Before I can begin to analyze his actions, my phone rings. Its Gale. I feel an odd guilty feeling as I answer.

"Hey Clare, I was gonna text you back but I figured I might as well call." Gale's voice sounds rushed.

"What are you doing? You sound busy."

"No, I'm on my way to meet some friends at the grill." he explains.

"Okay, well I won't keep you. I'm so glad it's Friday. I'm ready for the weekend."

"Are you going to another party? Your mom is still disappointed." Why did he mention it to my mom? I love that he's close with my mom but sometimes dating him is like having an annoying little brother that tattles on me. Did I just compare him to a brother? It really _has_ been a long week.

"No, I'm not going to a party. I miss you."

" I miss you too Clare. So much. Call me later okay?"

I agree and we exchange "I love you's" before hanging up.

When I get back to my room, Isabelle is getting ready for the party tonight, I assume it is at Jace's frat house. I log into Netflix and browse the movies, deciding which to watch tonight.

" I really wish you would come, I swear we won't stay this time. Just come for a little bit. Watching movies alone in this small room sounds miserable!" she whines and I laugh. She continues to beg me while she teases her hair and changes into three different dresses. She decides on a white dress that leaves very little to the imagination. The white color of the dress looks really good with her bright red hair I have to admit. I envy her confidence. I know I have a decent body, curves in all the right places but I'm just not comfortable with my body the way she is. I tend to wear clothes that hide my large bust while she tries to make hers draw as much attention as possible.

"I know, I just- ugh! What the heck?" I yell at my laptop screen that is now all black. I try to turn it off and on but it doesn't change from the black screen.

"It's a sign that you should come. My laptop is in Griffin's room so you can't use mine." she smirks and fluffs her hair again. I really don't want to sit in the dorm alone without anything to do or watch.

"Fine, but we are leaving before midnight." I groan and she jumps up and down, clapping her hands.

I change out of my pajamas and put on a new pair of jeans that I haven't worn yet. They are a little tighter than my usual pants but I need to do laundry so I don't have a choice but to wear them. My shirt is a simple black button up, sleeveless shirt with lace trim on the shoulders.

"Wow, I actually like your outfit. A lot." Isabelle tells me. I assume it is a compliment despite the surprise in her voice that she would actually like something I'm wearing. I smile and she tries to offer me eyeliner again.

"Not this time." I tell her, remembering how it smeared from my tears last time. Why did I agree to go back there again?

"Bay is picking us up instead of Griffin, she just said to text her so she'll be here any minute" I guess Isabelle already texted her. Well duh she did. I mentally slap myself.

"I don't think she likes me" I know she doesn't. But I thought I'd tell Isabelle.

"She does, she is just too honest sometimes and I think she is intimidated by you."

"By me? Why on earth would she be intimidated by me?" I laugh. I am the one intimidated by her.

"I think just because you're so different from us." she says and smiles. I know I'm different from them but to me they are the "different" ones. "Don't worry about her she'll be occupied tonight." she laughs.

"By Jace?" I ask before I can stop myself. I can't help but notice the way she is looking at me with her eyebrow raised.

"No, by Pierce probably. She changes guys every week." That's a harsh thing to say about her friend but she just smiles.

"She isn't dating Jace?" The image of them making out on the bed comes into my mind.

"No way, Jace doesn't date. He just messes around with a lot of girls but he doesn't date anyone. Ever."

"Oh." is all I manage to say. She gives me a strange smile and grabs her purse.

"Let's go." she grabs my arm and pulls me outside.

The party tonight is the same as last week, tons of people, drunk people everywhere. Why didn't I just stay in and stare at my ceiling? Bay disappears as soon as we arrive and I end up getting a spot on the couch and staying there for at least an hour before Jace walks by.

"You look.. different." he says as I stand up. His eyes rake down my body and back up. He doesn't even try to be subtle about it. I stay silent and his eyes meet mine. "Your clothes actually fit you tonight." he laughs. I roll my eyes and adjust my shirt, suddenly wishing I was wearing my normal loose clothing. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Yeah.. I'm surprised that I ended up here again." I say and walk away from him. He doesn't follow, but for some reason I find myself wishing we would have.

* * *

A few hours later, Isabelle is drunk again, well everyone is drunk again. "Let's play truth or dare." Pierce slurs and their small group of tattooed friends gather around the couch. Bay passes a bottle of clear alcohol to Griffin and he takes a swig. Jace's hand covers his entire red cup as he takes a sip.

They all agree to play a drunken game of truth or dare which couldn't possibly end well. Another punk looking girl joins the game, making it Jace, Pierce, Griffin, Griffin's roommate William, Bay, Isabelle, and the new girl. "You should play Clary." Bay says with a wicked smile.

"No, I'd rather not." I tell her and look away.

"Like _she_ would actually play, she would have to stop being a prude for five minutes" Jace tells them and they all laugh except Isabelle. His words anger me, I _am_ not a prude. Yeah, I will admit I'm not by any means wild, but I am no prude. I glare at Jace and sit down cross legged in their little circle, in between Griffin and the new girl. Jace laughs and whispers something to Pierce before they start.

The first few truths and dares include Pierce being dared to chug an entire beer can, Bay being dared to flash their group her bra, (which she did) and finding out that Isabelle has her nipples pierced.

"Truth or dare Clarissa?" Griffin asks and I gulp.

"Truth?" I squeak. Jace laughs and mutters "Of course." I ignore him and Griffin rubs his hands together.

"Are you a virgin?" Griffin asks and I choke on my own breath. No one seems fazed by the intrusive question besides me. I feel the heat in my cheeks and the humor in everyone's faces.

"Well?" Pierce says. Despite how much I want to run away and hide, I just nod. Of course I'm a virgin, the furthest me and Gale have gone is making out and him touching my bottom, through my jeans of course.

No one seems surprised by my answer, just intrigued. "So you have been dating Gale for two years and you haven't had sex?" Isabelle asks and I shift uncomfortably. I just shake my head.

"Jace's turn." I say, hoping to take the attention off myself.

"Dare." Jace answers before I even ask him.

What should I dare him to do? I know he'll do whatever it is just because that's how he is. "I.. hmm. I dare you to .." My voice trails off.

"To what?" He says impatiently. I almost dare him to say something nice about each person in the group but I decide against it, however amusing it would have been.

"Take your shirt off and keep it off the entire game." Bay says for me and I'm glad she did. Not because Jace will be taking his shirt off of course, but because I couldn't think of anything to have him do and she saved me.

"How juvenile." He says but lifts his shirt over his head. My eyes go directly to his long torso. The way black ink of the tattoos is painted across his surprisingly tan skin is somehow appealing. Under his swallows he has a weird tattoo on his stomach, it's pure swirls and such. Reminds me of a rune, from a fiction book I read called the Shadowhunter's Codex. His arms have many more tattoos than I expected, small seemingly random tattoos are scattered along his shoulders and hips. Isabelle nudges me and I tear my eyes away from him praying that no one saw me staring. The game continues and Bay kisses William and Pierce, Isabelle tells us about her first time having sex and Griffin and the new girl kiss. How did I find myself in the middle of this group of hormonal college students?

"Clary, truth or dare?" William asks.

"Why even ask? We know she'll say truth." Jace interrupts.

"Dare." I say, surprising them and myself.

"Hmm.. Clary, I dare you to.. take a shot of vodka." William smiles.

"I don't drink."

"That's the point."

"Look, if you don't want to do it.." Griffin starts to say and I look over at Jace and Bay sharing a laugh at my expense.

"Fine, one shot." I say and Jace's eyes meet mine. He gives me a strange look.

Seconds later I'm handed the clear bottle of vodka. I mistakenly put my nose against the top, smelling the foul liquid. It burns my nostrils and I scrunch my nose, trying to ignore the chuckles behind me. I try not to think of all the mouths that have been on the top of the bottle before I tilt it back and take a drink. The vodka feels hot and burns my tongue all the way down to my stomach but I manage to swallow it. It tastes horrible. The group claps and laughs a little, except Jace. If I didn't know him any better I would think he was mad or disappointed? He is so strange. I can feel the heat in my cheeks and the small amount of alcohol in my veins that grows with each round that I'm dared to take another. I oblige, I have to admit I'm pretty relaxed for once. I feel good.

"Same dare." Pierce laughs and takes a drink of the vodka before handing me the bottle for the fifth time. I don't even remember the dares and truths that have been happening around me for the last few rounds. This time I take two big drinks of the vodka before it's ripped from my grasp.

"I think you've had enough." Jace says and hands the bottle to Griffin, who takes a drink. Who the hell is Jace to tell me when I've had enough? Everyone else is still drinking so I can too. I grab the bottle back from Griffin and take a drink again, making sure to give Jace a smirk as the bottle touches my lips.

"I can't believe you've never been drunk before. Its fun right?" Pierce asks and I giggle. Thoughts of irresponsibility flood my mind but I push them back. It's only one night.

"Jace, truth or dare?" Bay asks. He answers "dare." of course. It _is _Jace.

"I dare you to kiss Clary." she says and gives a fake smile. Jace's eyes go wide and all I want to do is run away.

"No, I have a boyfriend." I tell them, making them laugh at me for the hundredth time tonight. Why am I even hanging around these people who keep laughing at me?

"So.. it's just a dare. Just do it." Bay pressures me.

"No, I'm not kissing anyone." I snap and stand up. Jace just takes a drink from his cup. I hope he's offended. Actually I don't care if he is. He hates me and is rude to me anyway. As I get to my feet, the full effect of the vodka hits me. I wobble but pull myself together and walk away from them. Through the crowd, I manage to find the front door. As soon as it opens, the fall breeze hits me. I close my eyes and breath in the fresh air before going to sit on the familiar wooden bench. Then I realize what I'm doing, my phone is in my hands, dialing Gale.

"Hello?" He says, the familiarity of his voice makes me miss him more.

"Hey.. babe" I say and laugh. We don't call each other ridiculous pet names.

"Clary, are you drunk?" His voice is full of judgment. I shouldn't have called him. The fact I called him "babe" gave me being drunk away easily.

"No.. of course not" I lie and hang up the phone. I press my finger down on the power button, I don't want him to call back. He's ruining the good feeling from the vodka. I stumble back inside, ignoring whistles and crude comments from drunk frat guys. Desperate idiots. I grab a bottle of brown liquor off the counter in the kitchen and take a drink, too big of a drink. It tastes worse than the vodka and burns even worse. My hands fumble for a cup of anything to get the taste out of my mouth. I end up opening the cabinet and using a real glass to pour some water from the sink, making sure to put the glass in the sink afterwards. The water helps the burn a little, but not much. The group of my "friends" are still sitting in a circle playing their stupid game. Are they my friends? I don't think they are. They only want me around so they can laugh at my inexperience. How dare Bay tell Jace to kiss me, she knows that I have a boyfriend. Unlike her, I don't go around kissing everyone. I have only kissed two boys in my life, Gale and Riven, a freckle faced kid in third grade who kicked me in the shin after. Would Jace have went along with it? I doubt it. His lips are so perfect and full, my head plays an image of Jace leaning over to kiss me and my pulse begins to race. What the hell? Why am I thinking about kissing him? I'm never drinking again. Minutes later, the room begins to spin and I feel dizzy. My feet lead me upstairs to the bathroom and I sit in front of the toilet, expecting to throw up. But nothing happens. I groan and pull myself up. I'm ready to go back to the dorms but I know Isabelle won't be ready for hours.

Before I can stop myself, my hand is turning the knob on Jace's bedroom door. It looks the same as before only this time the room is moving around beneath my feet. The copy of Wuthering Heights is missing from the shelf where it was but I find it on the bedside table, next to Pride and Prejudice. Jace's comments about the novel reply through my mind. He has obviously read it before, and understood it which is rare for our age group. Maybe he had to read it for class before, that's why. But why is this copy of Wuthering Heights out? I grab it and sit on the bed, opening the book halfway through. My eyes scan the pages and the room stops spinning.

I'm so lost in the world of Catherine and Heathcliff, that when the door opens, I don't hear it.

"What part of no one can come in my room did you not understand last time?" Jace booms. His angry expression surprises but humors me at the same time.

"S-sorry. I ."

"Get out." he spits and I glare at him. The vodka is still fresh in my system, too fresh to let Jace yell at me.

"You don't have to be such a jerk!" My voice coming out much louder than I had intended.

"You're in my room. Again after I told you not to be. So get out!" He yells, stepping closer to me.

"Why don't you like me?" I'm not sure what possessed me to ask him this. I don't think my, already, wounded ego could take the answer.

"Why are you asking me this?" He glares right back.

"I don't know.. because I've been nothing but nice to you and you're always rude. I thought we could be friends" How stupid does that sound. My fingers pinch the bridge of my nose and I wait for his answer.

"Us? Friends?" He laughs. "Isn't it obvious why we can't be friends?"

"Not to me."

"Well for starters you're too uptight, you probably grew up in some perfect little model home that looks like every other house on the block, your parents probably bought you everything you wanted and you never had to want for anything. With your stupid pleated skirts, I mean honestly who dresses like that at 18?" He says and my mouth falls open.

"You know nothing about me! My life is nothing like that! My alcoholic dad left us when I was ten and my mom worked her ass off to make sure I could go to college, I got my own job as soon I turned 16 to help with bills and I happen to like my clothes. Sorry if I don't dress like a slut like all the girls around you! For someone who tries to hard to stand out and be different, you sure are judgmental" I scream and he balls his fists. I feel the tears prick my eyes and turn around to wipe them before we notices.

"You know what, I don't want to be friends with you anyway Jace." I tell him and reach for the door handle. The vodka has made me brave causing me to scream at Jace. I'm glad, For once I find a benefit in drinking.

"Where are you going?" He asks. He is so unpredictable and moody.

"I'm going to the bus stop so I can go back to my room and never, ever come back here again. I'm done trying to be friends with any of you."

"It's too late to take the bus alone."

"You're not seriously trying to act like you care if something happened to me." I laugh. I can't keep up with him.

"I'm not saying I do.. I'm just warning you. It's a bad idea."

"Well Jace, I don't have any other options. Everyone is drunk, including myself." I say and the tears come. I'm humiliated that Jace out of all people, is seeing my cry, again.

"Do you always cry at parties?" He asks with a small smile.

"Apparently, since these are the only parties I have ever been to." I reach the door again and open it.

"Clarissa." He says so soft that I almost don't hear him. His face is unreadable. The room starts to spin again and I grab onto the dresser next to his door. "You okay?" He asks. I nod even though I feel nauseous. "Why don't you just sit down for a few minutes, then you can go to the bus station."

I nod again. I walk back out and once again he calls my name. "You can sit in here.. I guess." he says and lets out a deep breath.

"I thought no one was allowed in your room?" I ask him and sit on the floor.

"It won't happen again"" he snaps. There's the Jace I know. I hiccup and a small smile plays on his lips. "If you throw up in my room.." he warns.

"I think I just need some water." I say and move to stand up.

"Here." he says, handing me his red cup. I roll my eyes and push it away.

"I said water, not beer."

"It _is_ water, I don't drink." he says. I make a noise between a gasp and a laugh. There is no way Jace doesn't drink. I don't remember him taking a drink from the bottle of vodka, but still? "Surprised?" He asks and I nod.

"You're not going to sit here and babysit are you?" I really just want to be alone in my drunken state. I'm starting to feel guilty for yelling at Jace. "You bring out the worst in me." I say aloud, not meaning to.

"That's harsh." He says, his tone serious. "And yes, I am going to sit here and babysit you. You _are_ drunk for the first time in your life, and you have a habit of touching my things when I'm not around." he says and takes a seat on his bed. I grab the cup of water and take a sip, I can taste a hint of mint on the rim and can't help but think about how Jace's mouth would taste. God, I am never drinking again. I remind myself as I sit back down on the floor.

After minutes of silence Jace finally speaks up. "Can I ask you a question?"

The look on his face tells me I should say no but I can't help but say, "Sure"

"What do you want to do after college?" He asks and I laugh. That is the last thing I thought he would ask. I assumed he would ask why I am a virgin or why I don't drink.

"Well, I want to be an author or a publisher, whichever comes first." I probably shouldn't have been honest with him, he will just make fun of me. Feeling brave, I ask him the same question earning an eye roll from him but no answer. "Are those your books?" I ask him, even though he probably won't give me answer.

"They are." he mumbles.

"Which is your favorite?"

"I don't have a favorite."

I sigh and pick at a small fray on my jeans. There shouldn't be a fray already, they are new but I will worry about that later. "Does Mr. Roger's know you're at a party again?" He smirks.

"Mr. Rogers?" I don't get it.

"Your boyfriend. He is the biggest square I have even seen."

"Don't talk about him like that, he's.. he's..nice." I stutter. Jace laughs and I stand up. He doesn't know Gale at all. "You could only dream of being as nice as he is." I spit.

"Nice? That's the first word that comes to your mind when talking about your boyfriend? Nice is your 'nice' way of calling him boring."

"He isn't boring, you don't know him."

"I know that he is boring. I could tell by his cardigan and loafers." Jace's head rolls back in laughter and I can't ignore his dimples.

"He doesn't wear loafers." I say and cover my mouth so I don't laugh with him at my boyfriend's expense. I grab the water and take a drink.

"Well he has been dating you for two years and hasn't fucked you yet, I would say he is a square." he says and I spit the water back into the cup.

"What the hell did you just say?" Just when I think we can get along he says something like that.

"You heard me Clarissa." he smiles.

"You're an asshole Jace." I growl and throw the half empty cup of water at his face. His reaction is exactly what I hoped for. Complete shock, His large hand wipes off the excess water as I storm out of the room. He is so infuriating, decent one minute and completely crude the next. I push my way through the crowd and find the kitchen again. The anger I feel has overcome my nausea and all I want is another drink. I have to get Jace's dimpled smirk out of my head. I spot Pierce's black hair through the crowd and walk towards him. He is sitting with a cute preppy boy who happens to be holding a bottle of liquor.

"Hey Clary, this is my friend Will." Pierce says, introducing us. Will smiles at me and I return it. Will must notice my eyes on the bottle because he holds it out. "Want some?" He asks and passes it to me. The familiar burn feels good, it ignites my body again and I momentarily forget about Jace.

"Have you seen Isabelle?" I ask Pierce and he shakes his head. "I think she and Tristan may have left." She left? What the hell? I should care more but the vodka skews my judgment and I find myself thinking her and Tristan would make a cute couple. A few drinks later, I feel amazing. This must be why people drink all the time. I vaguely remember promising myself that I will never drink again but it's not so bad.

Fifteen minutes later, Pierce and Will have me laughing so hard that my stomach hurts. They are much better company than Jace. "You know Jace is a real ass." I tell them and they laugh.

"Yeah, he can be sometimes." Pierce agrees and snakes his arm around me. I want to move it but I don't want to make it awkward because I know he doesn't mean anything by it. Minutes turn to hours and I haven't seen Jace or Isabelle. The crowd starts to die down and I start to feel tired. It dawns on me that I have no way to get back to the dorms.

"Do the buses run all night?" I slur. Pierce shrugs and says he doesn't know. "I'll be back in a minute" I tell them and stand up. Once again the effects of the vodka hit me as I stand up. "Ugh, just who I wanted to see" I groan as Jace's blonde curls appears in front of me.

"You and Pierce are a thing now?" Jace's voice is thick with an emotion that I can't quite register.

"You are so obnoxious! I'm trying to find out about the bus." I push past him and he grabs my arm. He has no boundaries. "Let go of me Jace." I look for another cup to toss in his face.

"Chill out.. its three am. There isn't a bus. You're stuck staying here again." His smile is so mocking that it makes me want to smack him. "Unless you want to go home with Pierce." he lets go of my arm and I go back to the couch with Pierce and Will. I hope that same room from last weekend is empty I should probably find out soon. I tell Pierce about my plan and he offers to walk me upstairs to find out.

We find the room that me and Isabelle stayed in last week, unfortunately one of the beds is occupied by a snoring drunk guy. "At least that bed is empty." Pierce laughs and I giggle. "I'm going to walk back to my place, if you want to come? I have a couch you could sleep on." he offers. I need to think clearly for a second, Pierce, like Jace, hooks up with a lot of different girls. If I agree to this it could mean I'm offering to kiss him.. well I have a feeling with those good looks it is easy for Pierce to get girls to do more than kiss.

"I think I'll just stay here in case Isabelle comes back." His face falls a little but he gives me an understanding smile. He tells me to be careful, giving me a hug goodbye. The door closes as he leaves and I can't help but lock it. Who knows who will come in? I look over at the comatose snoring man, I don't think he is waking up anytime soon. The tiredness I felt downstairs has somehow faded, my mind going back to Jace and his comment about how Gale hasn't slept with me yet. It may seem strange to Jace, who sleeps with a different girl every weekend, but Gale is a gentleman. We don't need to have sex, we have fun together doing other things like.. well.. we go to the movies and go for walks. This is why I promised not to drink again because my mind doesn't work correctly. I find myself staring at the ceiling, counting the tiles to try to sleep. The moment my eyes close I hear the drunk guy rustling around on the other bed. I ignore it and begin to drift off.

"I haven't seen you.. around here before" a deep voice slurs. I jump up and his head bumps my chin, causing me to bite my tongue, hard. He puts his hand on the bed, inches away from my thighs. His breathing is ragged and smells like vomit and liquor. "What's your name pretty girl?" He breaths and I gag. My small arm flies up to push his shoulder, trying to get him away from me. It doesn't work, he just laughs.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to have some fun." He says and licks his lips, leaving a string of saliva down his chin. My stomach turns and the only thing I can think to do is kick him, hard. He grabs his knee and stumbles back, giving me my chance to bolt. My shaky fingers fumble with the lock and finally it opens. The few people in the hallway give me odd stares as I rush past them. "Come on, come back here!" I hear the disgusting voice say and he is following me down the hall. I don't remember the hallway being this long before. The party goers don't seem to be phased by a girl being chased down the hall. He is now only a feet away from me, stumbling over his own feet giving me a few extra seconds. Where will I even go? My feet take me down the hall and to the left to the only place that I know in this damned fraternity house.

"Jace! Jace please open the door!" I yell, one hand banging on the door and one trying to twist the locked door knob.

"Jace!" I scream again and the door flies open. I don't know what made me come to his room out of all places but I would rather take Jace's verbal assault than the drunk guy trying to have his way with me any day.

"Clare?" Jace asks, seeming confused. He wipes his eyes with his hand. He is wearing only black boxer briefs, and his hair is sticking up all over. Ironically, I am more surprised by how good he looks than by the fact he called me 'Clare' instead of 'Clarissa' for once.

"Jace, please can I come in? This guy.." I say and look behind me. Jace pushes past me and looks down the hall. His eyes meet the drunk guy and the creep changes from scary to frightened. He looks at me one more time before turning around and walking back down the hall. What the hell was that?

"Do you know him?" My voice is shaky and small.

"Yeah, get inside" he says and pulls me by my arm into his room. I can't help but watch the way his muscles move under his inked skin as he walks back to his bed. His back has no tattoos on it, I find that strange since his chest, arms and stomach are covered. He rubs his eyes again. "Are you okay?" His voice is raspier than ever from just being woken up.

"Yeah.. I'm sorry for coming here and waking you up." Why am I apologizing to Jace? He should be apologizing to me, but he did just help me escape from the creep.

Jace's hand runs through his messy hair and he sighs. "Don't worry about it. Did he touch you?" he asks. There is no trace of sarcasm or humor in his expression.

"No, he tried though. I was stupid enough to lock myself in a room with a drunk stranger so I suppose it's my fault." the idea of him touching me makes me want to cry, again. Why am I so emotional every time I'm at this house.

"It's not your fault that he did that. You aren't used to this type of.. situation." his voice is kind and totally opposite of his usual voice. I walk across the room towards his bed, silently asking him for permission. His hand pats the bed and I sit down with my hands in my lap.

"I have no plans on getting used to it. This really is the last time I'm coming here, or to any parties for that matter. I don't know why I even tried. And that guy..he was just so.."

"Don't cry, Clare" Jace whispers. I hadn't realized I was. He brings his hand up and I fight the urge to flinch away, what is he doing? The pad of his thumb captures the tear before it rolls down my cheek. My lips part in surprise from his gentle touch. Who is this guy and where is the snarky, rude Jace? I look up to meet his gold eyes and his pupils dilate. "I hadn't noticed how green your eyes are." he says so low that I lean closer to hear him. His hand is still on my face, my mind is racing. He takes his lip ring between his teeth, pulling half of his bottom lip in his mouth. Jace removes his hand from my face and I look at his lips once more. My conscious and my hormones are battling but my conscious loses at I crash my lips against his, catching him totally off guard.

As my lips touch Jace's I feel his sharp intake of breath. I have no idea what I am doing, but I can't stop. Jace's mouth tastes just like I had imagined, I can taste the faint hint of mint on his tongue as he opens his mouth and kisses me. Really kisses me. His warm tongue runs along mine and I can feel the cold metal of his lip ring on the corner of my mouth. My entire body feels like its been ignited, I have never felt like this before. He brings his hand to my face, cupping my flushed cheeks, before both of his hands go to my hips. He pulls back a little and plants a small kiss on my lips, "Clare." he breaths and brings his mouth back to mine, his tongue sliding in once more. My mind is no longer in charge, the sensation has taken over ever fiber of me. Jace pulls me by my hips closer to him as he lays back, never breaking the kiss. Unsure of what to do with my hands, I put them against his chest as I climb onto his torso. His skin is hot and his chest is moving up and down, from his rapid breathing. He pulls his mouth away from mine and I whimper at the loss of contact, before I can complain his mouth moves to my neck. I feel every swipe and lick his tongue makes, the feeling is incredible. He grabs ahold of my hair to keep my head just above his as he continues to kiss my neck. His teeth graze my collarbone and I moan, the feeling shoots down my whole body as he gently sucks on my skin. I would be embarrassed if I wasn't so intoxicated, by Jace and the alcohol. I have never kissed anyone like this, not even Gale. Gale!

"Jace.. Stop." I don't recognize my voice. Its low and husky and my mouth is incredibly dry. He doesn't stop. "Jace!" I say again, my voice clearer and he lets go of my hair. I look into his eyes, they are much darker yet softer and his lips are a deeper pink and swollen from kissing me. "We can't." I say, even though I really want to keep kissing him I know I can't.

The softness in his eyes disappears within seconds and he pulls himself up, knocking me off of him and onto the other side of the bed. What just happened? "I'm sorry." are the only words I can think of. My heart feels like it will explode any second.

"Sorry for what?" He says and walks over to his dresser. He pulls out a black t-shirt and pulls it over his head. My eyes go down to his boxers again and they are noticeable tighter in the front. I flush and look away.

"For.. stopping." Or for kissing him, I'm not sure if I actually am so I don't want to apologize for that.

He seems uninterested. "Okay?"

"Or for kissing you.. I don't know why I did that." I tell him, avoiding eye contact.

"It was just a kiss, people kiss all the time." His words hurt my feelings for some reason. Not that I care if he didn't feel what I did. What did I feel? I know I don't actually like him, I'm just drunk and he is attractive, It has been a long night and the alcohol made me kiss him, somewhere in the back of my mind, I fight down the thoughts of how much I wanted it to happen again. He was just being so nice that's why.

"Can we not make a big deal of it then?" I ask, I would be humiliated if he told anyone. This isn't me, I don't get drunk and cheat on my boyfriend at a party.

"Trust me, I don't want anyone to know about this either. Now stop talking about it." He snaps.

"Now you're back to yourself I see?" My tone harsh.

"I never was anyone else, don't think because you kissed me, basically against my will, we have some sort of bond now."

Ouch. Against his will? I can still feel the way his hand gripped in my hair, the way he pulled me on top of him, and the way his lips formed 'Clare' before kissing me again. "You could have stopped me." I say and stand up.

"Hardly" he scoffs and I feel like crying again. He makes me too emotional. I'm humiliated and hurt by the way he is basically saying I forced him to kiss me. I bury my head in my hands and head for the door.

"You can stay in here tonight since you have no where else to go." he says quietly and I shake my head. I don't want to be anywhere near him. This is all part of his little game. He will offer me to stay in his room so I think he is a decent person, then he will probably catch the room on fire, or cut all my hair off when I am asleep.

"No thanks." I say and walk out of his room. When I reach the stairs, I think I hear him call my name but I keep going. The cool breeze feels wonderful against my skin, I sit on the familiar stone wall and turn my phone back on. Its almost four am. I should be waking up in ah hour to get an early shower and start studying, but instead I am sitting on this broken stone wall, alone and in the dark. I read through the text messages from Gale and my mother. Of course he told her. I can't even be upset with him, I just cheated on him. I type in the address of my dorm building into the navigation on my phone and start to walk.

**Thanks for reading c: Let me know what you think about this chapter.**


	5. Authors note

So I've been getting reviews about this story not being mine, well obviously it isn't. I said it in the description. So to that anonymous reviewer,you might wanna read the descriptions next time. Because I never, in any way, said this story was mine. So calm down with the "you have no life" Anyway, I hope I didn't get anyone mad or anything.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, Thanks to all people who don't mind me writing this story and put something POSITIVE. Like I said, This story will be LONG and it isn't MINE. This is the last time I say it, I'm sorry if you get offended but read the description before you start saying things and calling me names. Anyway, Enjoy lol.**

The streets are dark and quiet once I get away from the frat block. The other frat houses aren't as big as Jace's. There are so many things I don't understand about Jace, why is he in a fraternity with a bunch of preppy, rich kids if he's punk and dark, and why does he go from hot to cold so quickly? I don't know why I even bother to waste my time thinking about him, after tonight I am beyond done trying to be friendly with him. I can't believe I kissed him. That was the biggest possible mistake I could've made and the second I let my guard down around him he attacked, worse than ever. I'm not stupid enough to trust that he won't tell anyone but I hope his embarrassment of kissing me will keep him quiet. I'll deny it until the grave if anyone finds out.

After an hour and a half of walking, I finally reach the campus. I stop at the coffee house and grab a cup, I might as well stay awake. I need to come up with a good explanation for my mother and Gale for my behavior tonight, not the kissing, they will never know about that, but that I was at a party. Again. I really need to have a talk with Gale about telling my mom things, I am an adult now and she doesn't need to know what I am doing all the time. My legs and feet hurt by the time I reach my dorm and I sigh in relief as I turn the knob. "You've got to be kidding me!" I half scream at the sight of Jace sitting on my bed.

"Where were you?" He asks calmly. "I drove around trying to find you for almost two hours."

What?

"Why the hell would you be looking for me?" I ask in disbelief.

Why didn't he just offer to take me home earlier. More importantly, why didn't I ask him to as soon as I found out he hadn't been drinking? Oh that's right, because there is no way he would have done anything nice for me.

"Because.. because I don't think it is a good idea for you to be walking around at night, alone."

I laugh at his words. He furrows his brows, frowning at me and I laugh harder.

"Get out, Jace" I say in between laughs.

I am not laughing because I find this funny, I am laughing because I am too drained to do anything else. He looks at me and runs his hands through his hair. In the little time that I have known this frustrating man that is Jace Herondale, I have learned that he does that when he is either stressed or uncomfortable. I hope its both right now.

"Clarissa, I am.." He's cut off by pounding on the door.

"Clary! Clarissa Fray, you open this door!" It's my mother.

"Oh my god, Jace get in the closet" I whisper and grab his arm yanking him off the bed.

"I am not hiding in the closet, you're eighteen." He says and I know he is right but he doesn't know my mother.

I groan in frustration and she pounds again. I check the mirror, wiping under my eyes and grab my toothpaste, smearing a little on my tongue to conceal the smell of vodka. When I open the door my mother and Gale are standing side by side and my mother looks furious.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask them as my mom pushes by me and goes straight for Jace.

"This is why you haven't been answering your phone? Because you have this.. this.. tattooed, troublemaker in your room at six am!" She shouts.

My blood boils. I am usually timid and sort of afraid when it comes to her. She has never hit me or anything but she isn't shy when it comes to pointing out my mistakes.

"_You aren't wearing that are you Clary?"_

_"You should have brushed your hair again Clary."_

_"I think you could have done better than that Clary."_

She always puts so much pressure on me to be perfect all the time, its exhausting. Gale just stands there glaring at Jace and I want to scream at both of them, actually all three of them. My mother for treating me like a child, Noah for telling on me, and Jace for just being Jace.

"Is this what you do in college young lady? You stay up all night and have boys in your room? Poor Gale was worried sick about you and we drive all this way to find you being dare I say it, slutty." She says and Gale and I both gasp.

"I just got here, she wasn't doing anything wrong." Jace says and I am shocked.

He has no idea what he is up against. Maybe this will be a good fight, my subconscious grabs a bag of popcorn and sits down in the front row to watch.

"I was not speaking to you, I don't know what someone like you is doing hanging around my daughter anyway."

"Mother." I say through my teeth.

I am not sure why I am defending Jace but I am. Gale looks at me then at Jace and back to me again. Does he know that I just kissed Jace? The memory if fresh in my mind and makes my skin tingle just thinking about it.

"Clary, you are out of control. I can smell the liquor on you from here. I can only assume that this is the influence of your lovely roommate and him." She says, looking towards Jace.

"I am eighteen mother, I have never drank before and I didn't do anything wrong. I am just doing what every other college student is doing. I am sorry that you drove all the way here but I am fine." I sit down after my speech and she sighs.

"Could you leave us for a minute?" She asks Jace, her voice calmer than it was moments ago.

He looks at me as if asking if I will be okay. I nod and he walks out of the room. Its a strange revelation, me and Jace against my mother and my boyfriend. Somehow I know he will be waiting by the door until they leave.

My mother explains that she is just worried about me ruining my chance at an amazing education and she doesn't want me to drink again. She also tells me that she doesn't approve of my friendship with Isabelle,Jace, or anyone else associated with them. She makes me promise that I will stop being friends with them and I agree. I don't want to be around Jace after tonight anyway and I won't be going to anymore parties with Isabelle so there is no way my mother will know if I am friends with her or not.

"Since we are already here, lets go get some breakfast and maybe do some shopping." My mother suggests and Gale smiles.

I nod in agreement, it does sound like a good idea and I am starving. My thoughts are still a little effected by the amount of alcohol I consumed but my walk home and my mother's lecture have sobered me.

"You'll need to clean up a little and change of course" She smiles her condescending smile and I stand up to get some clean clothes out of my dresser. After I change in the closet, I touch up last nights makeup and I am ready to go. When we open the door Jace is sitting on the ground, leaning against the door across the hall. He looks up and Gale grasps my hand.

"We are going to go into town." I tell Jace. I find myself wanting to pull my hand out of Gale's. What is wrong with me?

"Oh, okay." Jace says and for the first time he looks vulnerable and maybe a little hurt. He humiliated you, my subconscious reminds me. I know she is right but I can't help feeling guilty as Gale pulls me along past Jace. My mom gives Jace a fake smile and he looks away.

"I really don't like that guy." Gale says and I nod.

"Me either." I whisper, knowing I am lying.


End file.
